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Only President Donald Trump and his inner circle could have expected such a successful first week of his presidency. Trump did the reigning equivalent of hitting 1,000 or going 10 for 10 from behind the arc in the NBA. It was a perfect first week for the returning president – ​​with a big asterisk.
There are a number of actions and a few speeches, including the inaugural address and the blunt remarks to the Davos audience, that I could list as big wins for Trump, but his most important steps are (1) his announcement of the goal for Trump . all NATO countries have a defense budget of 5% of their GDP, and (2) its Executive Order on Ending DEI in Government and Institutions Receiving Federal Dollars.
In the US the defense walk would mean national security spending of $1.45 trillion on the military, up from the current level of $886 billion. We must do this to protect ourselves from the gathering storm that is the alliance of our enemies: China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.
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All four countries are run by evil governments that exploit their people. Iran is the most obvious malign actor among them and Iran is – right now – trying to kill Americans here at home, including the president himself, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former Special Envoy to Iran Brian Hook and others. Everyone on Iran’s target list should have 24/7/365 protection.
Taking away the security of anyone targeted by a hostile state is weakness on parade and tantamount to waving a red flag in front of the mullahs and the IRGC.
So the asterisk. It’s a big one. Late in the week, the President and newly appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio ended security for Pompeo et al. No reasons were given. Supporters of the president, including myself, and, more importantly, many senators were stunned.
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First, the threat from Iran against Pompeo, Hook and others is very real and ongoing. Even Bill Clinton bombarded Saddam Hussein with massive bombings when Hussein made an attempt against George HW Bush. That was probably Clinton’s strongest moment as president. The decision to strip Americans of security, if not reversed, could be President Trump’s weakest decision on both counts and could be a defining moment if the Iranians, who have tried it before, do it again try and succeed in one of their targets.
The consequences of the withdrawal of security data for the ayatollahs must be that they perceive it as a provocation – a taunt – and an invitation to strike here. Such an attack would be devastating for the targets and bystanders, as well as for anyone who wants to deter rather than go to war with Iran.
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If the mullahs and the IRGC succeed, our response should be war. Foreign nations simply cannot attack our homeland or our former officials. The same standard applies to the former President Joe BidenVice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Kerry, although they are not known to be on Iran’s hit list.
What are the details about the chart? Joe Kent, who is now chief of staff in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and plans to head the National Counterterrorism Center, testified Friday in a classified setting. Kent immediately said “Yes” when Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, asked him whether Kent would want safety for himself or his family if he were in the reports the Senate Intelligence Committee reviewed that day. (The information they discussed is classified, but not that Q&A, and many people in the room heard it and can confirm it.)
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So President Trump and Secretary Rubio – neither of whom could have been briefed on these ongoing, very specific threats given the timing of the decision to withdraw protections – were very poorly served by whoever made this recommendation to them, on whatever grounds.
I can’t believe that, if the president or the… State Secretary receives the briefing, neither immediately restores security and reprimands whoever said the Iranians had been deterred. Trump and Rubio both understand Iran and how Iran responds to perceived weakness. It is weak to extract the safety of targets.
The Iranians still want to kill President Trump and anyone involved in the decision to stop Qasem Soleimani in Iraq on January 3, 2020, before the Iranian general killed more Americans there. Iran has tried more than once to eliminate people on their payback list, and the crazed theocrats continue to achieve their goals.
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Taking away the security of anyone targeted by a hostile state is a form of weakness on parade, and is tantamount to waving a red flag in front of the mullahs and the IRGC. If God forbid anyone, let alone a former Secretary of State, is attacked, injured or killed by Iran, it will forever tarnish the reputation and legacy of the President and Secretary Rubio. It should also mean immediately and massive retaliation against Tehranbut why invite the attack or not harden the targets? Does anyone actually want a war with Iran?
The President and Secretary Rubio should destroy anyone in their circle who made the recommendation for this decision because he is endangering not only the targets, but the entire country, which would suffer great harm if the killers follow through with the threat.
Hopefully the president will immediately reverse the State Department’s orders and also speak specifically to the Iranians: “If you even think about this, I will flatten you.” Trump’s ‘hell to pay’ comment caught the attention of Hamas. POTUS and Secretary Rubio also need to get the attention of the mullahs and not broadcast the signal that has been sent. Restore the security data and let the ayatollahs know that there are very bright red lines around the past and present targets.
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Some have argued that private citizens should pay for their own security. That’s a stupid and knee-jerk anti-Trump comment. Trump is going to issue some tough orders over the next four years, especially against the cartels. Who is going to pass on those orders and organize their implementation if they have even a moment’s doubt that the US will support them and especially their families, no matter how long that takes? Moreover, ‘private security’ is simply far below what our government offers, because ‘private security’ does not know what is coming its way. Our Intel agencies tell federal security details what’s in the works. They don’t tell armed private security guards.
Clinton set the standard more than three decades ago when 23 Tomahawk missiles were launched by two Navy warships on June 27, 1993. the center of Baghdad after Saddam Hussein attempted to assassinate the first President Bush while 41 was visiting Kuwait in April of that year. Trump should not want to lower the standard, and he certainly does not want Pompeo or others to be attacked, America to be drawn into a war, or to be seen as weak or uninformed.
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Hugh Hewitt hosts “The Hugh Hewitt Show“, heard weekday mornings from 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM ET on the Salem Radio Network, and simulcast on the Salem News Channel. Hugh Wakes Up America on over 400 affiliates nationwide, and on all streaming platforms where SNC can be seen Hewitt is a frequent guest on the Fox News Channel roundtable hosted by Bret Baier weekdays at 6pm ET Harvard College and the University of Michigan Law School, has been a Professor of Law at Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law since 1996, where he teaches constitutional law. Hewitt launched his eponymous radio show from Los Angeles in 1990 appeared on every major national news television network and hosted television shows for PBS and MSNBC written for every major U.S. newspaper, has authored a dozen books and moderated about two dozen Republican candidate debates, most recently. the November 2023 Republican presidential debate in Miami and four Republican presidential debates in the 2015-2016 cycle Hewitt focuses his radio program and column on the Constitution, national security, American politics and the Cleveland Browns and Guardians. Hewitt has interviewed tens of thousands of guests during his four decades at the broadcaster, from Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kerry to Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump.
